state parks

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Lake Oroville, then and now

July 2011 (Paul Hames/CA DWR) August 2014 (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Despite some stormy days in December and a wet weekend ahead, California is bracing for its fourth consecutive year of drought. Last month marked California’s driest January on record. Typically the wettest period of the year, San Francisco remained bone dry the whole month; the first time the city had no measurable rainfall since it began keeping tabs more than 165 years ago.Continue reading →

Even the Golden Gate Bridge, that most hallowed of local landmarks, had its naysayers.

Photographer Ansel Adams worried the bridge would despoil the pristine view (he later made peace with it). Ferry companies lobbied hard to kill the project. And even the Commonwealth Club of California passed a resolution, stating the timing was “inopportune,” according to historian Kevin Starr.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, propositions are an entrenched part of California’s political system. In nearly every statewide election, voters wade through a slurry of local and statewide ballot measures, part of a system intended to expand direct democracy. Some are really complicated, some are controversial, and some are just kind of weird (like when voters passed Prop 6 in 1998, making it a felony for anyone to use a horse for meat — including a pony, donkey or mule, or this year’s failed effort to get a measure on the ballot to split California into six states). In next week’s midterm election, Californians will decide on six statewide propositions, in addition to a likely host of county and local measures.

So how do propositions actually make it onto the ballot? What are the different types? And what exactly is a referendum anyway? Comic journalist Andy Warner demystifies the Golden State’s century-old process. Continue reading →

Includes interactive resources

California is feeling the burn big time.

As of September 18, about a dozen major wildfires were raging across the Golden State. That includes the massive King Fire near Lake Tahoe, which burst out of control this week just as firefighters began to contain another formidable blaze north of Redding. The King Fire has already burned more than 70,000 acres in El Dorado County, threatening thousands of homes and leading to the evacuation of nearly 3,000 people. Officials on Thursday arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire. Continue reading →

Includes interactive map

Click on different points on the map below to see which counties would be part of each one of California’s six new states, as outlined in a proposed ballot initiative. Per capita income and population figures are listed for each “state,” based on an analysis by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. The new jurisdictions underscore California’s extreme wealth disparities.

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Think California’s just too darn big for its own good? Well now there’s a strong likelihood you’ll get to vote on it.

A Silicon Valley venture capitalist today submitted what he claims are enough petition signatures to get his initiative, to split California into six states, on the 2016 statewide ballot.

Fire season’s come early to California this year. In San Diego County, nine wildfires are raging, which, as of Friday afternoon, have already scorched more than 20,000 acres. The blazes are an ominous precursor to what promises to be a long, dry, combustible summer ahead.

This interactive map, created by Google Crisis Response, is updated in real-time. It shows wildfire locations, perimeters and weather conditions. Click the bottom menu for a legend and additional map layers.

Includes infographic

California Environmental Protection Agency (full-size graphic below)

Be it torrential rains or severe droughts, huge wildfires or rising sea-levels, every corner of the United States has been — and will continue to be — impacted by the effects of human-induced climate change.

That’s the scenario presented last week by a team of scientists who described a series of sweeping environmental changes of near biblical proportions.

The government report, known as the National Climate Assessment, notes that many of these changes have resulted from an average temperature increase of less than 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century. It warns that U.S. temperatures could increase by more than 10 degrees by the end of this century if carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase. Continue reading →

Includes cartoon infographic

Distributing enough water to everyone has never been an easy task in perennially thirsty California. But making sure that residents, farms and the environment are all sufficiently hydrated becomes a particularly difficult balancing act during prolonged periods of drought. Simply put, there’s just not enough to go around. Cartoon journalist Andy Warner — whose last piece focused on California agriculture — explains the complicated math of water distribution in the Golden State. View below as a slideshow or full graphic. Continue reading →

Includes interactive charts

A parched Folsom Lake, at less than 20 percent of capacity (photo courtesy of National Weather Service).

This is not a good time for California’s umbrella industry.

2013 was one of the driest years on record in the state. And January — usually among the wettest months — has failed to provide any relief. With the precipitous drop in reservoir levels, Gov. Jerry Brown recently declared a statewide drought emergency, calling this “perhaps the worst drought California has ever seen since records began being kept about 100 years ago.”Continue reading →

INCLUDES: INTERACTIVE MAPS AND KQED MULTIMEDIA LINKS

Click on the photo to explore KQED's radio and interactive series on California's parks.

California has a lot of state parks. 278 to be exact – more than any other state in the U.S. Some are tiny specks on the map – mini historic sites that you may have driven by without even noticing. Others are vast swaths of land – thousands of preserved acres of old growth forest, sweeping vistas, pristine beaches. Size and stature aside, each has it’s own significance, and the majority were spearheaded as a result of citizen-led campaigns to make the land public and accessible to anyone who wanted to visit. Continue reading →